Unemployment Graphic

Missouri House committee votes to forgive federal unemployment debts

(Missouri Independent) – Thousands of Missourians facing repayment of mistakenly paid unemployment benefits would get some relief under legislation passed with a bipartisan vote Wednesday in a Missouri House committee. The bill, which will likely be debated on the House floor next week, would forgive debts due to overpayments from federal coronavirus relief programs but would not […]

Child Sex Crimes news graphic

Milan man charged in Adair County with “Enticement of a Child”

A Milan man has been charged in Adair County after an investigation into tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in reference to social media profiles suspected of sending child pornography. Thirty-eight-year-old Billy Schrepfer faces felony enticement or attempted enticement of a child. The Kirksville Police Department reports a Kirksville Police/Kirksville Regional […]

Sexual Abuse

Brookfield man faces first-degree sexual abuse charge

A Brookfield man accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman on February 12th has been charged in Linn County. Forty-year-old Clarence Clifton Turner faces a felony charge of first-degree sexual abuse. A probable cause statement from Brookfield Police Officer Zach Bunton reports Turner asked to come inside the woman’s residence on Canal Street in Brookfield, […]

State Reps. Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, (left) and Curtis Trent, R-Springfield

Audio: Proposed Missouri constitutional amendment would protect those with pre-existing conditions

You could be voting in 2022 on a proposed constitutional amendment in Missouri, requiring health insurers to cover preexisting conditions. House Joint Resolution 50 is a two-page proposal. It’s sponsored by State Rep. Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, the powerful House Majority Floor Leader. He says the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn the Affordable Care Act this year. […]

50-year-old Lonnie Richardson in Custody

Audio: U.S. Marshals capture southern Missouri man accused of threatening to kill Wright County sheriff and judge

The U.S. Marshals have announced that they’ve captured a southern Missouri man accused of threatening to kill Wright County Sheriff Sonny Byerley, a judge, and their family members.     50-year-old Lonnie Richardson was arrested Monday after marshals and Laclede County Sheriff’s deputies found him hiding in a small camping trailer near southwest Missouri’s Lebanon. […]

MoDOT Snowplow (Photo courtesy MoDOT)

Chemicals used to treat the roads lose their effectiveness in the bitterly cold temperatures

Light snow and periods of freezing drizzle create slippery road conditions through the evening hours. Though minimal accumulation is anticipated, the Missouri Department of Transportation warns that glazing of the pavement along with bitterly cold temperatures could impact travel along the I-44 and I-70 corridors today especially during the evening peak traffic times in the […]

CRP Website Revised (Conservation Reserve Program website)

USDA extends general signup for Conservation Reserve Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is extending the Conservation Reserve Program General Signup period, which had previously been announced as ending on Feb. 12, 2021.  USDA will continue to accept offers as it takes this opportunity for the incoming Administration to evaluate ways to increase enrollment. Under the previous Administration, incentives and rental payment rates […]